John McCain in 2010 AZ Senate Debates

In his debates with Hayworth and Deakin,, McCain accused the president of "committing generational theft" as a result of new spending, and pronounced himself proud to have
led the fight against "Obama-care," vowing to "repeal and replace" it next year.

On Immigration:
Campaign ad: "Complete the danged fence!"

In the face of Hayworth's challenge, McCain abandoned his longtime support for comprehensive immigration reform that would recognize reality and provide an eventual path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal aliens already living in the country.
Instead, he offered full-throated backing for the border fence he once mocked--"Complete the danged fence!," he demanded in an ad--and sought political cover in the form of an endorsement by his former running mate, Sarah Palin.
[Prior to 2004], McCain went to work with Democrats such as the late Ted Kennedy to bring sanity, and humanity, to the nation's long-running debate over illegal immigration. In 2006, I watched
McCain tell a group of sensible, blue-suited Republican businessmen in Milwaukee, who asked about immigration, "By the way, I think the fence is least effective. But I'll build the goddamned fence if they want it."

In his re-election campaign in Arizona, McCain has often seemed to be running as much against Obama as against his actual opponents. In July he began airing a campaign commercial featuring Paul Babeu, the sheriff of Pinal County, southeast of
Phoenix, and the president of the Arizona Sheriff's Association, who has endorsed McCain. "President Obama has made protecting our border incredibly difficult," Babeu says in the ad. "But
Arizona has a senator with the courage and character to stand up to a president who is wrong. John McCain. A president versus a senator: doesn't seem like a fair fight. Unless that senator is John McCain."

When the president went to Capitol Hill in
May to address the Senate Republicans, McCain accused the president of misrepresenting Arizona's Draconian new immigration law (which McCain had endorsed, and which Obama's Justice Department was preparing to challenge).

In his debates with Hayworth and Deakin, McCain called Obama "an uncertain trumpet" for promising to begin a withdrawal from Afghanistan by the middle of next year.

Some of McCain's former aides wish he would pick his shots more carefully.
One former adviser, who also worked in the Bush administration, said that McCain has let his personal distaste for Obama get in the way of actually influencing the debate. "Certainly through the Bush administration,
McCain was the most credible voice on the conduct and prosecution of the war," this adviser says. "We knew it would lead the news and people would believe him. If there's a missed opportunity with the Obama presidency, it's letting his personal
feelings get in the way of trying to shape the policy. When he talked about Iraq or Afghanistan, we listened." This adviser added, "I think that in some ways he's sacrificed that to deliver messages that other people could deliver."

On Health Care:
Repeal and replace the massive federal health-care law

But in the end, McCain said the election is about a choice. While he said he'll fight to repeal and replace the massive federal health-care law and rein in pork-barrel spending, he predicted
Glassman would push for another big-spending stimulus package, protect the unpopular health-care law and support the "corrupt practice of earmarks."

"He's clearly out of step with Arizona and with the people of this state," McCain said.

McCain talked about his 10-point plan to secure the border, saying only after that happens can the country address a temporary legal-worker program. "If we don't secure the borders first, we will find ourselves with another
group of people who have come to this country illegally, and then we'll have to do it all over again."

Glassman said that while he supports securing the border, it won't work unless there is a way for people to cross legally for work.

On Government Reform:
Hayworth was unethical lobbyist hawking infomercials

McCain hammered Hayworth for his work as a registered lobbyist & infomercial pitchman after losing his re-election bid in 2006. Hayworth has stumbled since video surfaced of his appearance in a 2007 infomercial hawking free government money on behalf of
Florida company accused of charging thousands of dollars for information that was readily available online or at a public library.

"These are the facts," McCain said. "J.D. Hayworth was a lobbyist. He was in late-night infomercials. He said he didn't d
due diligence. My God man, didn't you know that this was a group that was taking people's money to say it could give them free government money."

Hayworth said, "It's really sad to see John McCain, who should be revered as a statesman, basically reduce
to a political shape-shifter," he said, then turned to his opponent. "John, you've changed positions so much in this campaign maybe we'll have to set up an extra podium for you depending on which John McCain is going to answer which question."